School students will learn about donation and transplantation

Students in high school and high school will be educated in organ donation and transplantation. Slovak transplant society with the support of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic on the occasion of World Transplant Day, which we annually commemorate on June 6, launch an educational online Academy to educate students of secondary schools about the importance of organ transplantation.
The Academy is part of more than a decade's campaign of Seven Lives, which draws attention to the importance of organ donation and life-saving transplants. Last year alone, this medical exercise gave 215 patients a new hope of life. For many patients, transplantation is the only solution to their serious health.
The Slovak transplant program has recently seen some remarkable achievements. Among the most important are the so-called ABO incompatible kidney transplant, when blood groups are incompatible with the donor and recipient organ. Slovak doctors also transplanted the kidney HIV to a positive patient with subdued HIV activity. Last but not least, the transplant program of Langerhans islets or pancreatic cells producing insulin is also being developed in Slovakia.
The Ministry of Health has long supported the campaign Seven lives and activities of professional companies that aim to promote donation and organ transplantation. There is more to be said about transplants and donations and, in particular, about young people. Information and educational campaigns that have an impact on society as a whole are of great importance and benefit. It is important to develop awareness of organ transplants and life-saving donations, and stated the Minister of Health of the SR Kamil Šaško.

The subject of organ transplantation is extremely important within Europe and national, public or government institutions are also involved in support of the transplant programme through top political and professional authorities in individual European countries. In this regard, Slovakia has the ambition to organize a prestigious European expert event dedicated to organ donation and transplantation in 2029, including with the support of the health department," said Adriana Liptáková, Director General of the Health Section of MZ SR. At the same time, she added that: at the present time, transplants are the most cost-effective treatment for terminal renal failure and the failure of other organs such as the liver, lungs, heart is the only life-saving treatment. Education in this area is therefore more than crucial.
A well-prepared public awareness strategy among young people about organ donation and transplantation can increase donor activity and reduce the percentage of refusals to donate the organs of deceased relatives from the family, " says doc. MUDr. Zuzana Žilinská, MPH, MHA, head expert of MZ SR for organ transplants. According to the professor of Žilina, some Member States have introduced procedures aimed at effective school education. The school transplantation and donation education takes place in different countries around the world. Spain is the country with the best organized organ donation programme, and thus transplantation and education on this subject is part of the school curriculum. The Central School Academy will focus on the thematic education of high school students, secondary health and vocational schools. It includes educational modules, information videos and lectures by experts on the importance of donation and transplantation, on myths and facts, but also on ethical and legal aspects of this issue, and says Professor Žilina. Videos are prepared in cooperation with experts who have been working on this issue for a long time. It is the debate and lectures that aim to raise awareness and promote donation among young people and promote awareness in their family, home and friends.
I consider the launch of the Langerhans islet transplant programme to be the most important moment last year. This is a cell transplant that is able to produce insulin so that we can significantly affect the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus. type 1, who also have kidney failure. This is how they undergo kidney and pancreatic cell transplantation. The program, which is implemented in cooperation with the Centre for Diabetic IKEM, is available in all kidney transplantation centres in Slovakia. Last year there was also a couple exchange in Slovakia with two incompatible couples, that is, the donor from one pair donated the kidney to the recipient from the other pair and vice versa. It is also a national programme and such couples are referred to the register of incompatible couples. In 2024 we also continued in AB0 incompatible transplants and we also improved the diagnosis and treatment of transplant rejections, and says Prof. MUDr. Ivana Dedinská, PhD., MHA, FERA, president of the Slovak transplant company.
215 lives were saved in Slovakia thanks to the transplant program. From 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, we carried out organ donations from 108 donors, including 66 dead and 42 from living donors, and says MUDr. Martin Chrastina, PhD. CETC, the main transplant coordinator. This included Slovakia among the very successful EU countries in kidney transplantation from living donors. In terms of statistics, out of a total of 108 organ donors, 158 kidneys, 34 livers, 21 hearts and 2x pancreatic cell transplants were transplanted, and the main MUDr transplant coordinator adds. Crust.